The central bank of the country Iberia recently announced a reduction in the interest rate by 150 basis points. Following this announcement, Matthew Boulder, who is interested in buying a house, expects the real interest rates also to fall. However, he notices that the real interest rate in the economy has actually increased. Which of the following is most likely to explain this outcome? A. Housing prices in Iberia have been increasing for the past 3 years. B. The minimum wage in Iberia remained the same as in the previous year. C. The central bank announced that it expects the economy to grow rapidly in the next few quarters. D. The Iberian economy is going through a period of deflation. E. The unemployment rate fell sharply in the current year as compared to the last year.

Respuesta :

Answer: (D.) The Iberian economy is going through a period of deflation.

Explanation:

Real interest rate can be denoted using the following formula. i.e.,

Real interest rate = Nominal Interest rate - Inflation.

∴ In this particular case the Real interest rate will rise only if the economy is going through a period of deflation and deflation rate is larger than fall in interest rate.